*waited for picture to load and thus disappointed!* I saw the title and did so hope for a fireplace lit with rosy coals and toasty roaring fire! *grins* I bet that will be "soon"...... Have a great day!

Hi Rachel,Welcome to the farm! I just love the feel of wood heat. To me, it makes other types of heat somehow feel 'fake.' A 76 year-old ex-farm gal I met not long after moving to Missouri explained it to me this way: "Wood heat gets deep into your bones." So true.

Except for a few electric space heaters sometimes placed here and there to keep pipes from freezing, our little old woodstove is our only source of heat in the house. The cats live under and around it all winter!

And by the way, just in case anybody is wondering, that firewood you see in the picture all came from dead trees we cut down. : )

Hi Heather,Sorry. We don't have a fireplace. The only time I see the rosy coals and roaring fire is when I open the door to toss more wood in the stove!

huh huh!that's funny - that particular post is getting quite a few hits from people searching for Picco since Michael Bauer gave Picco an absolutely glowing review of Picco in the SF Chronicle last Sunday.

Bauer even goes so far as to say: The results are that Hill and his staff produce the best pizza in the Bay Area. Ooh la la.

This stumps me that he finds it so great. And I did my review methodically, visiting no less than 3 times. But maybe it has improved since the first month. Hopefully it has.

I don't know how anyone in the world can describe Picco's icecream, like Bauer did, as "they're fantastic", since it was possibly the worst icecream i've ever tasted. I do agree with him that the oil and salt topping on a frozen vanilla dessert is a winner, though, it was the only good thing about it. Can't wait to try it on some real icecream some time.

Well - least Picco's Bruce Hill managed to get a glowing review from Bauer. If the Real Rstaurant Group manage to get one for The Fog City Diner too, then I guess they will have achieved their ambition and be really happy.

You have a beautiful site, very well done. Since I am sitting by a toasty fire as I write I understand their appeal. It's one of the only things I like about winter. My husband and I live out in the country with horses, 4 cats, a dog, chickens, etc., so I enjoyed looking at your farm.

This looks like a puzzle, with all those different pieces wedged in together. Too bad there's no economical way to ship wood--most people around here have backyards full of debris from their oak trees that they'd only be too happy to unload!

Hi Sam,Ha ha, what a coincidence that I happened to think of your Picco review and refer to it here.

The thing is, unlike you, most people will often not give a restaurant a third (or even second) try after a lousy meal. And supposedly for every one person who has a bad restaurant experience, you can count on them telling at least seven other people about it.

As far as someone rationalizing bad food/service/whatever by saying, well, they've only been open for a month. . . if the pizzas are that inconsistent, then somebody obviously has not learned how to properly operate a wood burning oven (no easy feat)--and, in my opinion, the restaurant should not be opened until they do! You're only going to scare off potential regular customers for good. Too bad.

I ate dinner at the Fog City Diner 19 years ago on my 18th birthday. I was underwhelmed and have never been back. (I've probably long since told my seven people about the experience, so I'll spare you here. : ) I prefer 'real' New England diners--and diner food. : )

Hi Amy,Hmmmm. A puzzle, you say? Perhaps that is why it takes The Master Wood Stacker such a seemingly inordinate (at least to us shoddy stackers) amount of time to get every piece just right! : )

No, there is definitely not an economical way to transport firewood, which is why, if you were to buy it, this same wood would cost up to ten times as much in a city.

Hi Abe/Happy,Welcome to the comments section of the farm! So glad you decided to say Hi. Thanks for your kind words. Looking forward to hearing from you in the future. : )

Oh Alisha,You never cease to make me smile and laugh out loud. 'The Domesticated Republic of Farmgirl'--fantastic!

And I'm not the only one who loves your comments. This is a direct quote from The Master Wood Stacker himself (who is allowed on the computer once in a while):

"I read about the Republic and nearly fell out of my chair laughing. It is soo good to hearthat others see the beauty in my wood stacking."

Hi Jeff,And here I thought everyone wouldn't be ready for another contest for at least a year. Guess I'm going to have to find some new farm animals. Hmmmmmm. : )

Hi Amy,Weren't you the one who encouraged him last time about something? : )

January 2013 update: I know word verification is a big pain, but it's the only way I can stop the ridiculous number of anonymous spam comments I get every day. I don't want to require commenters to be registered Blogger or Open ID users because I know many of you aren't. Thanks so much for your understanding!

Hi! Thanks for visiting Farmgirl Fare and taking the time to write. While I'm not always able to reply to every comment, I receive and enjoy reading them all.

Your feedback is greatly appreciated, and I especially love hearing about your experiences with my recipes. Comments on older posts are always welcome!

Please note that I moderate comments, so if I'm away from the computer it may be a while before yours appears.

I try my best to answer all questions, though sometimes it takes me a few days. And sometimes, I'm sorry to say, they fall through the cracks, and for that I sincerely apologize.

If you're waiting for a reply to your comment and have a Blogger profile (it's free to create one) you can check the NOTIFY ME box that is below and receive all follow up comments to just this specific post via email.

I look forward to hearing from you and hope you enjoy your e-visits to our farm!